WiF - The Second Half

[EUBanana]

In the Italian Coast the CW get the jump on the Regia Marina. The Italians have no CVs and no air cover, so the damage is entirely one way (though they do have ~90 naval factors to the CW ~60). The CW attempts to destroy the Littorio but doesn't manage it.

Neither side finds each other again.

[EUBanana]

In the Eastern Med the Sparviero's tear up the CW cruisers guarding the convoy though... yeah, air cover is important I guess!

[EUBanana]

Jul/Aug 42 Allied #2

The Chinese try and bomb Yamamoto, get him disorged and stuck out in an exposed position. Nobody wants to be disorganised and stuck in an exposed position after all... [:'(] Despite Kittyhawk support though, the bomber is seen off by what tiny Japanese airfarce exists in China.

[EUBanana]

Attacks are fairly conservative. There are a number of weakish points in the Eastern Front but the Soviets can't manage more than about +5 to the roll. They decide not to risk that,aside from Yeremenko's guys in the Pripet Marshes, who are next to Manstein. Loss of Manstein in exchange for a guy more or less cut off seems like a good exchange so they go for it (forest hex too so the Luftwaffe can't help unduly).

In China the Allies are a bit more aggressive. Chiang goes for Yamamoto, trying to destroy him, but the Japanese choose blitzkrieg and Yamamoto is made to retreat. I shoulda done Mao's attack first, major error.

[EUBanana]

Especially given Mao's boys were successful in wiping out the Japanese defenders, another INF lost for Japan, not good...

[EUBanana]

Von Manstein lives though, with a bit of help from the Luftwaffe. Some of the Russians do not.

[EUBanana]

Jul/Aug 1942 Axis #3

As the last bit of Allied activity, some P38s arrive in the United Kingdom, and the Russians adjust the Eastern Front a bit, bringing up some aircraft to cover Smolensk better.

Then it's the Axis go. Italy takes a combined, Germany and Japan both land.

No naval combat, though Italy adds Pola to its fleet (forgot about Pola, she was in Sicily).

There's a single ground strike on the southern Eastern Front, which goes very well for the Luftwaffe and quite possibly opens up the chance of a breakthrough despite the large number of Soviet troops there.

[EUBanana]

Jul/Aug 42 Axis #3.

The Italians rail Balbo to the front, the Germans rail in some reinforcements including Dora the Big Gun, who goes to Bessarabia! Japanese forces approach Batavia and rush to the front in China, while a couple of ground units debark from the fleets off shore.

The Japanese decline to launch any attacks, the Germans have a couple of blitzes planned against badly disorged units.

[EUBanana]

There's some air to air fighting as the Soviets commit bombers, even without fighter escort. Over Smolensk a Shturmovik is shot down by a Bf110. In the south though neither side has any fighters in range and so both airforces can contribute unmolested.

Near Smolensk the Germans roll well and smash their way over the Dnieper, driving all before them!

[EUBanana]

Jul/Aug 1942 Axis #3

After the successful German attacks, things are looking a bit more desperate for the Russians both north and south of the Pripet Marshes... only a few Germans have been disorged atm and the Luftwaffe still has a fair bit of firepower available to it as well. Pondering the next Soviet move, might be time for a general retreat back to the next defensive position. There is no firebrigade available this time to attack the German bridgeheads which did a good job of holding them up last turn, the reserves were committed to the front line.

It's late in the year, but Moscow isn't all that far, the Russians really want General Winter to show up!

[EUBanana]

Jul/Aug 42 Allied #5

US/CW take combineds. The CW needs to supply the Eastern Med again after the Sparvieros took out the convoy there, they also need to start pulling out of Libya if at all possible. Land for China/Russia ofc.

The US fleet surprises the IJN in the Coral Sea, and there's another air battle as the carriers have at it. The IJN handle the American bombers (which are few in number) almost straight away, but then over a series of rounds the Japanese air takes heavy losses. Only a single Japanese bomber makes it through the CAP - only to be destroyed by AA fire.

The Japanese carrier force is basically out of action at this point...

[EUBanana]

Meanwhile in the Mediterranean the CW blow a bit more of the Regia Marina away with their CVs... A single 1 point value carrier air is lost to enemy AA fire.

[EUBanana]

Both sides stick around. Then the italians get the chance they are looking for! and surprise the CW. They force a surface combat - which turns out to be super bloody for both. Looks like the carrier combat has blunted the Italian battleship force enough to let the CW fight back on equal terms even here.

On the CW side, Coventry, Cumberland and Carlisle are all sunk, Curlew is damaged (guess I didn't like the letter C. ). On the Italian side, Giulio Cesare rolled badly and is sunk, and so are the cruisers Trento and Giussano.

The Italians now have a naval factor total lower than the Commonwealth, and no carriers. So the CW has a decisive advantage now, not even luck can help Mussolini out. The Italian fleet therefore aborts back to La Spezia.

That includes the convoys, so Italy is going to take a production hit now.

On the other hand the Allies foolishly sent an AMPH and a TRS without escort in the eastern med, trying to move units out under the nose of the Sparvieros. Bad idea, as the AMPH is sunk along with a MOT inside it by the Italians.

[EUBanana]

Jul/Aug 1942 Allied #4.

The Luftwaffe was moved up to the front en masse by the Germans. Ploesti was left undefended therefore and the Soviets still have one strat bomber. They launch a daylight raid... and it turns out to be absolutely devastating. I didn't realise a single bomber could even be that devastating, the loss of 3 oil is going to be very serious in the next turn.

Noobery happens on both sides in this game. [:'(]

[EUBanana]

The Soviets then try to shift things around a bit to a more defensive position... the INF is too slow to redeploy quick enough really, and disorged units make it hard too as that essentially forces the Russians into a defence somewhere.

On the southern front they try to contain the spearhead, the Germans have a fair few disorged in the area too so they might get away with it... I stress might.

[EUBanana]

After some pondering, Koniev on the southern front does a bit of reorging. Has to be now after all... if ever.


Jul/Aug 1942 Axis #5

Everybody takes a land action. The Allies rule the seas... for now.

Two Stukas make an attack - an old I-16 moved up at the end of the last impulse shoots one down, the fighters too far for an attacker intercept. The Luftwaffe has a preponderance of single seaters but the long range Bf110s have their place alright...

The Stuka that makes it through though scores 2 out of 2 hits near Smolensk, again.

And then, some movement and a large number of land attacks...

[EUBanana]

A bad roll. Pskov falls, but the Germans take very heavy casualties in so doing, so thats really a Russian victory IMO.

[Courtenay]

ORIGINAL: EUBanana

A bad roll. Pskov falls, but the Germans take very heavy casualties in so doing, so thats really a Russian victory IMO.

Why did Pskov fall? The Russians lost one of two units, and it is an assault, so they should have held the hex.

[EUBanana]

Similar tale at Smolensk... the city falls but the Germans are given pause.

Jeez Stalingrad seems a long way away, I guess the Germans aren't doing so good! though I was eying Moscow mostly...

[EUBanana]

ORIGINAL: Courtenay

ORIGINAL: EUBanana

A bad roll. Pskov falls, but the Germans take very heavy casualties in so doing, so thats really a Russian victory IMO.

Why did Pskov fall? The Russians lost one of two units, and it is an assault, so they should have held the hex.

You're right. It didn't fall! they didn't even get that...